String Tulip Quilt Finished

Prejudices are rarely overcome by logic. 

Not being founded in reason, they cannot be destroyed by logic.

~Tryon Edwards

Quilting

It was worth all the time it took to remove the border quilting. The spiral design didn't add anything to the quilt because it was hidden among the strong Xs and the tension was a mess. With the machine cleaned, the needle changed, and thread rethreaded it's sewing perfectly {except for my own bobbles.} 

String Tulips on Green baby quilt

Quilting began with a few free-motion arcs on the tulips then SID around the inside and outside borders. After that it was time to stipple the green center. Other designs were considered {for a couple of milliseconds} but there are already lots of strong lines in the piecing and I find stippling easy and effective. 

Detail of string tulip quilting

The third step was quilting the string border and this is where issues arose. The strings are so strong that no quilting shows. I thought FMQ spirals might work but had tension issues that took most of last week to resolve. After taking that out I decided to scribble back and forth in the basic direction of the strings. When I reached the opposite block corner I simply switched directions onto the next block. I went around the inner row of string blocks first then made a second pass of the outer row. Better views are visible on the back. {Photos below.} 

Detail of string X border

Usually I finish each quilt before signing it but a new idea occurred recently. If I carefully place my signature I can sign before quilting. It looks neater. I don't usually add a label. My dear mother used to write them because her handwriting was so lovely but I've found the ink fades over time as the quilts are washed. Painters sign in the lower right corner on the front of their work so why shouldn't we? 

Quilt signed and dated with cursive thread writing 

Obviously chartreuse is a favorite color of mine. I thought the green print on front had yellow crosses on it and couldn't find any fabric in my stash that matched/blended until I pulled these odd colors. There wasn't enough of the first so the second was added to finish the back. Of course, I could have looked at the selvedge but that would be too easy. ;-)

String Tulips on Green quilt back

{Over}thinking tripped me up again. In my mind there was enough of the darker chartreuse on the back to create the binding. Where did I get that crazy idea. Only a six-inch strip was left. Back to the stash. Several yellow-green prints came to light and this one worked best. Who'd have thought? 

This is why I prefer pulling fabric and setting them next to each other. There are wonderful surprises. Color theory is great in practice but we don't deal with color like painters. Unless we dye our own, we can't blend it. We use fabric; and printed fabrics in particular have their own ways of working. 

String Tulips on Green quilt folded

The outer border of the quilt is finished with half feathers. So easy and quick... which was appreciated even more after the inner border debacle.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 47" x 47"

Design: String tulips and string block border

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton

Thread: Superior Masterpiece 50/3 green cotton thread

Quilting: SID and FMQ

Approximate yardage: 6.5 yds

Previous posts:

1. Stringing along - the original idea

2. String Tulips - adjusting the original idea with applique

3. Working on the String Tulip quilt - starting quilting

4. Two Steps Forward and Three Steps Back - messing up the quilting

Reading

Did you read The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare as a child? It was recently available as an ebook and I took the time to reread it. On the death of her grandfather in the late 1600's, Kit sails from Barbados to Connecticut to live with her aunt and Puritan uncle. Her more relaxed background brings her into conflict with the rigid religion practiced in New England and it grows as she befriends a local Quaker shunned by most of the community. 

The book is praised for its theme of tolerance; however, given recent events it obviously ignores the issue of slavery. One sailor is proud his ship doesn't carry slave cargo. Kit sold {"let go" but didn't free so what else could it be?} her personal Black maid (slave.) Reading it this time made me wonder how Black children felt when it was assigned in grammar school. Fifth Chinese Daughter has worn better through the years. Still, this is a good story and a continuum on the road to the development of inclusion and tolerance... and I don't just mean the Puritans.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Two Steps Forward and Three Back

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

~Carl Sandberg

Quilting

All the border seemed to need was some quick FMQ but a huge problem arose. The bobbin thread pulled too tightly and then too loosely. It has taken the rest of the week to unsew this mess. 

 

Ripping out poor quilting stitches

Next week I'll try something else... right after I give the machine a thorough cleaning. 

But the stack of projects never ends and fortunately I have a second machine. This funny Outer Space Santa fabric has been in the pile for a year waiting to be made into an Aloha shirt for DH. He likes this style {although he's not as fond of Christmas prints as I am} because I see a family resemblance between him and the man in the red suit. It turned out well and is earmarked for his birthday. Woo hoo. One present down. Don't tell him.

Aloha shirts

Wouldn't you think I could relax and read down some of my book pile now? No. I decided to continue drawing down the enormous pile of "clothing fabric" and make a more sophisticated shirt for me. I should have left well enough alone. 

Reminder to self: patterns with photos on the front are always more accurate than those with fashion sketches. Funny. This looks just like an Aloha shirt. And about as much fit even though the sketch had lovely lines. 

The leftovers from each of the shirts now reside in the scrap bag. And I may have an idea for them.

We are working very hard to donate or recycle all our discards. An article last week suggested that all companies should be responsible for the entire life cycle of their products, including final disposal/reclamation. That would be much better for our planet than creating the acres of trash and ecological disasters we currently have. Like a VAT for end use, too. What do you think?

Like many of you, I watched Sujata and Freddy on The Quilt Show last week. What treasures they both are. Their books remain some of my favorite quilt references and I signed up for a workshop with Sujata late this year. Her suggestion of placemats resonated. I need some and they are just the right size. Can't wait for class.

Voting

Only 49 days till our election. The door for registering to vote is closing. Ask everyone if they are registered, please. And encourage them to vote. Our democracy and our lives depend on it.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Working on the String Tulip Quilt

"We're all just walking each other back home."

~Ram Dass

Quilting

Delightful as I find this quilt it was set aside while I finished some that needed to be gifted sooner. Finally I can get back to it.  For smaller quilt like this, doubling my folding tables makes the perfect basting table. They fit perfectly with no time wasted moving and re-stabilizing the quilt package. 

A few lines of quilting hold the petals. None of the fabric behind them was cut away. Slow, steady sewing was key to getting this part done.

String Tulips pin basted

Combined with stippled background the tulips now push forward a bit. I considered echo quilting but stippling is easier for me and the strong Xs in the border and the crossed stems are enough straight lines. 

Stippling the background of String Tulip quilt

Next up is the border.

Around the House

Less sewing than some weeks but we are busy with several chores around the house. Not exciting to write about but definitely nice to carve out a bit more breathing room. It's amazing how many old, tired items accumulate wherever we set down roots. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

String Tulips

Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over

what impression he is making or about to make.

~Bruce Lee

Quilting

As if the first set wasn't enough, here's a second set of the Electric Socket strings. {Thanks for the perfect name, Julie.} Not so much yellow here and the green blocks aren't resonating. 

More string X blocks

Leaving them on the design wall gave me lots of time to arrange and rearrange all those string blocks. I moved something every time I walked by but they were just too crazy together. It could be the mix of fabrics {completely mixed up} or the angles of the strings themselves but it never gelled. What to do? What about taking out the center to make a medallion? 

After a while, I realized scrap tulips have been on my wish list for years. Tulips remind me of our dear sister and always make me happy. This will be my #AHIQPositiveThinking prompt. Just when I need a smile. 

Now I've looked at hundreds of tulip quilts over the years - antique stores, online auctions, blogs, etc. - but some of my favorites come from Audrey at QuiltyFolk. There are three general block types: a single tulip with leaves, one or more tulips in a basket, and crossed tulips. {Audrey has made all of them.  Another reason to follow her blog.} The center petal can be another string set or a single fabric. 

Most often the petals are strung crosswise but I saw one years ago in Dallas where the strings ran the length of the petal. That's what I chose to do with mine. 

Angled string blocks as a border

The tulip are sized so one petal fits inside one of the already sewn blocks. No reason to add more work. It also uses some of the blocks that were removed. How nice is that!

Now to choose the background fabric. Loads of greens and a few blues came out of the stash. These four are too busy, too bright, or too strong.

Possible center background fabrics

This funky green with gold crosses and x's blends nicely with the melange of colors in the border. Lighter tulip petals faded into the background. Using blocks with some dark strings {like the one in the bottom left} makes the tulips pop the most. It reminds me of Black Tulips such as Queen of the Night and Black Hero. 

String Tulips baby quilt top

I was going to add leaves but there wasn't room once everything else was sewn so circles using Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles templates were the backup plan. My circles always turn out well shaped with this tool and there's a lot of choices in the set. I just put different sizes on the top until it looked right. Then it seemed to need another set of circles at the petal points. 

All the appliqué has turned under quarter-inch seams topstitched down using an edge foot... even the circles. {My previous appliqué used a blanket stitch.} Only when sewing across the bottom of the tulips did I have any trouble. So many seams. Just slow down so the stitch length stays even. 

The stems are binding remnants. Their chunkiness fits the large scale of the tulips. 

Monthly FUR (Fabric Use Rate) 

Despite my goal to finish more tops, nothing was completed in July. Again. YTD = 111.75 yards.

Voting and Census

Our national election scheduled for November 3 is 98 days away. Help someone register and encourage everyone to vote. Everyone needs to participate in a democracy - both in becoming informed on issues and candidates as well as actually voting.

And just as important, the 2020 census is still ongoing. Everyone residing in the US of every status needs to participate. Our constitution requires an accounting each decade of every person in the US and its territories as a way to determine congressional districts and apportion Congressional seats and allocate federal money. Please make sure you and your neighbors are counted. Check here for more information. 

Reading

Poems by Mary Oliver have been my latest evening reading. After weeks of randomly reading her poems online I started her fifth collection, American Primitive. Her reflections on nature and her joyfulness at life draw me in every time. 

Enjoy the day, Ann